by Don Cooper, The Sales Heretic™

With all the attention on social media over the past couple of years, it’s easy to forget that face-to-face networking is still extremely valuable. However, it isn’t enough just to meet people at networking mixers once in a while. People need to really get to know you. And they need to remember you, like you and trust you before they’ll want to do business with you. So try one or more of these tactics to speed that process along.

1. Volunteer
Every organization needs volunteers, and savvy networkers jump at the chance. People will see you in a position of responsibility and service. You also get a chance to showcase your talents and learn new skills.

2. Work the Registration Table
You’ll meet virtually everyone who attends the event. More importantly, they’ll meet you. Read the rest of this article »

by Ashley Andrus

Well, it’s the time of year for “best of” and “Top 10″ lists, so in honor of the brand new 2010, we thought we’d share a run-down of the most popular training topics our clients are planning for this upcoming year:

1. Behavioral Interviewing
There is nothing more important than hiring the right people. Hiring the right person for the right job provides tremendous organizational benefits by increasing employee productivity, reducing training time, and controlling the high cost of employee turnover—not to mention the positive impact on team morale. You’d think, with double-digit unemployment rates across the country, that it would be easy to hire right now…right? Well, maybe. Read more…

2. Business Writing
Many experts estimate that as much as 90% of human communication comes from non-verbal clues such as voice inflection and body language. In business writing, however, you have only the words to get your meaning across, so the way the writer uses those words becomes more important. Read the rest of this article »

by Debra Fine

Stanford University School of Business conducted a study that monitored a group of MBAs 10 years after graduation. What did they learn? That their ability to converse had a huge impact on their success and grade point averages had no bearing whatsoever.

The ability to connect with others through small talk can lead to big things, according to Debra Fine, author of The Fine Art of Small Talk (Hyperion 2005). A former engineer, Fine recalls being so ill at ease at networking events and even the 10 minute coffee break during a meeting that she would hide in the restroom. Now a motivational speaker, Fine believes the ability to develop relationships with people through small talk is an acquired skill.

Fine offers the following tips for starting − and ending conversations:

• Come up with three things to talk when preparing for a function along with a couple generic questions that will get others talking. If you’ve met the client before, remind yourself of things about her, such as a vacation she was headed to or specifics about her family. Read the rest of this article »

by Sarah Michel

Let’s be honest…this time of the year can be very stressful. Shopping, decorating, addressing greeting cards, hosting and attending parties, mailing gifts, studying for school finals, housing out of town family members and winding down your business for 2009 are all stressful activities. The fact that we’re expected to do them all simultaneously forces me into the fetal position, rocking and sucking my thumb!

How did things get so out of control? The intent of this time of year is to stop momentarily and step off the merry-go-round of life and focus on the people and things in your life that you’re thankful for. Actually letting people know how much you appreciate them, is the best gift you can give someone.

I admire people who have walked away from the commercial focus of this season doing away with the traditional gift orgies that leave most of us in debt this time of year. Many of these creative people I have met have chosen to have family “white elephant gift exchanges” where everyone brings a gag gift, tacky Christmas sweaters or an inexpensive theme gift where the focus is on just being together and having fun. Read the rest of this article »

by Mike Faber

Choosing to work from home as an entrepreneur in the coaching and professional speaking business has been the single most freeing, and terrifying decision of my work career. At first, the “flight from cubicle” life seemed idyllic: I could wake up when I wanted to, pursue exactly what made me happy, and move from the office to home in a matter of seconds. No more battling traffic on the freeway at rush-hour! Reality started to hit as time passed, along with the first and third of every month. Instead of a comforting pay-stub in the mail, all I saw were bills. The cubicle seemed like a prison when I worked at my last company, now it beckoned like a siren’s call. I had to make a choice — get active and engaged in my new career, or start looking for another six-by-eight cube to call home.

By this time, early 2005 for me, I had far too much invested to go back to the cubes. Chances are you do too! A 2000 study* by the US Small Business Association reported that 46 percent of home-based businesses use personal funds for start-up capital! Read the rest of this article »

by Ashley Andrus

If you’re like most people, you finished that saying with, “…it’s WHO you know.”

That was true for a long time…but in the age of online social networking, it’s more accurate to say, “It’s not who YOU know, it’s who THEY know.” More than ever before, the internet makes it easy to access the networks and circles of influence of the people you know.

As networking expert Sarah Michel explains the equation in today’s market: The value of others + the value you bring to others = your netWORTH (™) . In this economic climate of free-falling 401(k) values, your network has become quite literally your netWORTH (™) . Are you putting social networking tools—especially LinkedIn and Twitter—to work for you?

There’s a catch, though. Too many people forget about the second variable in that equation (the value you bring to others) and focus exclusively on the first (what’s in it for me?) REAL WORLD TIP: The people you’re reaching out to don’t care what’s in it for you—they care about what’s in it for THEM.

Some quick tips on maximizing your efforts so your equation is balanced:  Read the rest of this article »

by Sarah Michel

With our economy in a recession and unemployment at the highest rate it’s been in over 16 years, there is no hiding from the fallout…we’re all feeling it.  However, there is a silver lining in this dark cloud we’re all sitting under.  There has never been a better time to invest in growing your network and social capital than now.

I have lived through several recessions in my lifetime and the one consistent observation I’ve made is how people seem to shift their priorities to focus on what really matters during lean times…relationships.  This is the time to start reaching out to people in your network and looking for ways to be a resource to others to increase your netWORTH™.

Your netWORTH™ is determined by your access and influence (which I call your “A & I factor”) that you have with your network.  Now is a great time to gain access to people you want to meet or have not seen in a while because business is slower and people are more available.  You will gain more influence when you focus on bringing value to others and commit to being a resource.  Approach your network with your arms open. Read the rest of this article »

by Gina Schreck

In the past 7 days, I have Linked In with 23 people, written on my daughter’s Face Book wall, sent 3 Jott messages to myself (my memory isn’t as good as it used to be), and read at least 12 Jott messages from our daughter’s soccer coach, who uses it constantly to send broadcast messages out to the parents and girls. I set up a new Ning network to check it out and see what that has to offer after reading an article in Fast Company. I have attended 3 different meetings in Second Life with my avatar, where I met two new business contacts on our island, and even “followed” my husband’s appointment activities using Twitter.

In that same week, I listened to 3 podcasts on different business topics, took some short video footage of my daughter’s winning football toss at field day using my Flip Video camcorder (where, by the way, she whooped all the boys), and then loaded them onto YouTube so her friends could watch them. I constantly use the Bluetooth connection in my car to talk on my cell phone, and can’t live without “Gloria,” my GPS (Gloria Petunia Schreck is the name my daughters gave her), to find me the closest Starbucks!

At Synapse 3Di, not only am I one of the founders, but I am the DIGITAL IMMIGRATION OFFICER. My job is to help those of us over the age of 35 immigrate into this foreign land of digital technology. While I have accounts and profiles at all of these places and I am more connected than a person really has a need for, I do not consider myself a “hyperconnected” individual. I check my email and text messages throughout the day, but check in on most of the other accounts perhaps 3 or 4 times a week. But look at those 20-somethings in our work environments or in our homes: they are connected 24/7—at work, home, restaurants, everywhere. They are hyperconnected! Read the rest of this article »